Route 66
by Verthril
Summary: Peter, Pietro, Maximoff lived his life by one rule. Live fast, die young, and leave a beautiful corpse. The rules didn't matter as long as he didn't get caught, and there wasn't anyone who could keep up with him. But as he was fond of saying, rules were meant to be broken, he just didn't expect to go breaking his own.
1. Chapter 1

Marvel owns the X-men, no profit is to be made from this work.

-=+=–=+=–=+=–=+=–=+=-

Xavier's School for Gifted Children, it was an academy hiding a secret behind flowery words and a family legacy. Ivy clung to the walls and it had a pedigree that had the rich and elite make inquiries, yet only the select were ever chosen to attend, sought out and actively recruited for the student body, or in his case the teaching staff.

Pulling up the winding drive, the car was black, borrowed and fast. Peter had been in California when the call came out of the blue to offer him a job, and as far as he was concerned flying was for chumps who didn't know how to appreciate life. A trip across the county not on his dime was a pretty good signing bonus.

It was a late spring day heady with the promises of summer, the sprawling lawns dotted with kids enjoying the weather for what it was, an excuse to escape classes. Killing the engine and climbing out, already he noticed the looks thrown his way, a few skeptical and many more curious. At only twenty five he was prematurely grey, it added to his mystique that was helped by a classic pair of ray-bans.

"If it isn't my delinquent brother."

"Oh look, my baby sister missed me."

Wanda was caught up in a heated game of basketball, looking to be team captain against a guy who couldn't decide between sideburns or muttonchops.

"We're twins you idiot." Wanda snapped, making a pass that would have been impossible for anyone else, except he knew her tricks by now.

"I still beat you." Peter teased, catching a snap of Wanda's fingers that told of her cheating at the game of hoops.

"Is everything a competition with you?!" Wanda shouted, racing down the court with a gleam of sweat leaving her looking a veritable valkyrie that had more than one boy too enraptured by her to provide any solid defence against her advance.

"Only if there's a finish line."

He could call her out but decided instead to let her have her fun, besides, she had too much dirt on him to start throwing stones. Digging out his duffle from the back seat and hiking up the front steps of the school, he had to go meet the new boss.

For a Friday things looked to be pretty relaxed with kids wandering about without a care in the world. He caught the eye of a few, but most were too busy to notice him. It was a little strange to go so unnoticed, he was only as conceited as he had any right to be as he did cut a good figure, his grey hair just the right shade of silver to accent his good looks.

"You got tourist written all over you."

"That depends if you're the tour guide."

The elfin faced girl had a lovely smile and tempting eyes that enticed him. She could have been a student, yet she had the swagger of someone used to handing out detention. He couldn't resist his own curiosity, and so just like his sister before him he cheated.

"Jubilation Lee, twenty-one, from Beverly Hills. Huh, would you believe I had just been in LA before I got this gig?" Peter read aloud from her wallet.

"Hey! When did you...?"

"I don't know what you're talking about." Peter dead panned, letting a hint of a smirk brush his lips.

Miss Lee dug for her wallet only to find it right where it had been, neatly tucked in the back pocket of her levis.

"How did you do that?" She sounded more curious than outraged.

"Do what?"

Who needed a pick up line when he had the ladies pawing at him and patting him down? Usually he'd let them think it was a bit of street performer magic, a little misdirection and mischief mixed together in equal parts for a good time, yet today wasn't a day for the usual.

"Are you looking for this?" Peter asked, holding her wallet up between two fingers, "The trick is all in the lift. After that it's about being too quick for your mark to notice, and I'm pretty quick."

"Pietro."

The new boss, the voice from the phone, Charles Francis Xavier himself in the flesh. He wasn't alone, in fact he had with him a beauty who had hair of startling white.

"Only my mom calls me Pietro, her or a certain baby sister out to annoy me." He saw Wanda's handiwork at play, but that was a game of tit for tat that went back for as long as he could remember.

"Peter." Charles greeted with a friendly smile, though his eyes held a twinkle of mischief.

"And what should I call you? Boss, Bossman? I know you're a Professor, but that just has me thinking I should stay clear of the library and guys who introduce themselves as Colonel."

"Charles will do just fine."

"How about Chuck, you look like a Chuck."

Something about that had the beauty beside Charles rolling her eyes, while Miss Lee beside him snorted in laughter.

"As you wish Pietro."

"Charles it is."

He had the feeling there was a conversation going on that he wasn't privy to, a look shared between Charles and the lady in his company that seemed to say too much. An elbow to his side was a reminder that he had something that wasn't his, something he didn't mind giving back.

"Miss Ferguson, could you show Mister Maximoff to his room?" Charles said conversationally enough, but again Peter noticed a bit of mischief in those remarkably young eyes.

"Well, I know you're not Miss Ferguson, and something tells me that she isn't Miss Ferguson either."

"Nope, she's Miss Munroe."

Miss Jubilation Lee became increasingly friendly in that moment, drawing near and hugging him in a bit of forwardness he wasn't exactly opposed too. The reason for it became clear in a flash of purple light, one that had the world twist on end as gravity sought to play a cruel joke.

For one brief moment Peter found himself laying in a crumpled heap, staring into a space beyond space that revealed the foyer he had been standing in but a heartbeat before, in the next it was gone and replaced with a fairly plain ceiling. A pleasant weight pressed against him, Miss Jubilation Lee, laying overtop him on what had to be his bed.

"Well, normally I'd at least buy a lady dinner before inviting her back to my room."

Her laugh was a treat to enjoy, as was how nicely she fit against him as they lay on his bed. Caught beneath her, tormented by the brush of her breath against his cheek and on his lips, he was never good when it came to temptation. The kiss was brief, teasing, and tasted of cherry. Eyes full of surprise stared into his own, an unspoken question hanging between them.

"Guess that means you owe me dinner." Miss Lee teased with a brush of her nose against his, her lips hovering dangerously close.

"When should I pick you up?"

Leaning in for another kiss, she denied and trapped him all at once, settling atop him with a bit of thoughtfulness clouding her eyes.

"Seven."

"Seven it is, that just leaves me with one more question, what's your name?" Just like he didn't go by Pietro, there was no way she went by Jubilation.

"Jubilee."

Still tasting her cherry chapstick on his lips, dinner might be a mystery, but he had a tantalizing suggestion of dessert.

-=+=–=+=–=+=–=+=–=+=-


	2. Chapter 2

Marvel owns the X-men, no profit is to be made from this work.

-=+=–=+=–=+=–=+=–===-

"You just got here and you're leaving?"

Leaning against his borrowed car, Peter lolled his head back to find his sister breaking from a group of students that looked intent on enjoying the spring evening after a winter spent cooped up inside.

"Going a date." Peter didn't bother hiding his smile, his sister was always on his case about his love life.

"A date, are you serious? I don't know how I'm not an aunt already."

"Unlike daddy dearest, whoever he was, I now how to show a lady a good time without worrying about Maury calling me up."

Out on their own in the big bad world, at least their mother could downsize from the family home she'd worked two jobs to keep. The last he'd heard she'd moved into a condo and quit the more menial of her jobs, serving bar nowadays and learning to love life again. His last call to her had been months ago, checking in to see how she was doing instead of calling a lawyer. What was a night in a holding cell against worrying his mother?

"Who?"

"Me!"

His date showed up fashionably late, something he could forgive her for even if he'd been keeping track on his watch, Swiss or nothing. Any thought of going Dutch on the bill was right out at seeing how horrified his sister was, that was worth Lobster and Champagne to see even if he hoped her tastes weren't so expensive. Miss Lee did casual right, jeans and Chuck Converse, sporting a tight yellow t-shirt that teased her midriff as she ran.

"You?" Wanda laughed, wagging a finger between the pair.

"Oui, me. Au revoir!" Jubilee spared a hug for Wanda in passing, rushing up to Peter to take him in.

"Like what you see?" Peter inquired, sure in his smirk that some might consider smug.

Straight cut black denim, a button up shirt that had been stylish in the seventies, sleeves rolled up of course, and shoes fit for running in but by no mean running shoes made up his outfit, that and his trusty Ray-bans that went with everything.

"Oh why didn't I see this coming, of course it'd be her. Should I tell the Professor to expect your call for bail?"

Jubilee's smile became endearing in that it said she shouldn't be smiling, utterly intriguing in how she tried to play at being innocent even if her eyes showed in them a naughty delight.

"I'll show you my rap sheet if you show me yours."

Biting her bottom lip as she considered his offer, Jubilee treated him to a flash of tongue in a teasing and childish gesture. Storming off with her hands thrown to the air, Wanda washed herself of any responsibility of them. His sister always played it straight, tried to be the good girl for the sake of their mother, but when the chips were down she could hustle with the best of them.

Dice was Wanda's game and no one could ever catch her cheating, beating the house and coming out clean as she left Vegas in the rear view, heading off to University paid in full. But twins they were and he saw the temptation she struggled against. Her clenched fists said he'd gotten off lucky this time.

"Shotgun!" Jubilee sang, jogging around to fall into the bucket seat of American Muscle.

The throaty growl of eight cylinders promised a wild ride, letting the beast beneath the hood loose off its leash in a squeal of tires that left smoke trailing down the drive. Laughter rang loud and lively beside him, the Bonny to his Clyde waving at the kids that saw them off.

-=+=–=+=–=+=–=+=–=+=-

"You've been arrested?"

"Charges never stuck."

"My kind of woman."

The heat of the day lingered, the days getting longer as the sun reluctantly set somewhere beyond the rooftops. An old main street had been swallowed up by Starbucks and chic shops, the affluent wandering around completely oblivious to the wolves that wore their clothes and drank their craft brewed beers. Sitting at a patio just so he could indulge in some people watching, marks the lot of them, Peter turned his attention back to his date.

"What's your poison?" He'd already shown himself to be a pickpocket of the classic kind, interested only in some quick cash even if the game had changed.

"Five finger discount." Jubilee whispered, wiggling her fingers for show.

Shoplifting always seemed so pedestrian to him, he'd cut his teeth on it long before his mother shared a story about a man who could bend metal, the father who'd never been around.

"Because you wanted to, or because you needed to?" The devil was in the details there, desperation drove people to do things they might otherwise find morally wrong.

"Started with the former, ended with the latter, but that's all behind me. Only time the cops and me got anything to say to another now is if they catch me speeding, or if I gotta explain why some guy's needing a trip to the ER." Slugging back her beer, Jubilee let go of a satisfied gasp as she slammed her glass down.

"A fellow speed freak with a history of violence?" Intrigued, Peter caught the eye of the fella serving up pints, flagging him down another round.

"I don't start the fights, but I'll sure as hell finish them. It's not what ya think though."

"No, I'm pretty sure that sounds fucking hot."

Her laughter danced and drew looks from the trafficked cobblestone sidewalk, the passers-by left curious to the joke that had missed out on.

"I bounce as a part-time gig. Underestimate me at your own risk, I'm scrappy."

"Bail?" Peter posed, his sister wasn't one to fib.

"Alright, alright. There might have been a couple of times I took my work home with me, but like I said, the charges never stuck. Pricks deserved it anyway. Enough about me, what's your modus operandi?"

"They gotta catch me first, and never get caught with the goods. The few times I ever saw the inside of a courtroom, the prosecutor hated me. They never could get the timeline to match up, it's not like I can be in two places at once."

He'd given her a mystery to solve over appetizers, splitting a plate of bruschetta awaiting their entrees.

"So just how fast is fast?" Diced tomatoes invariably tumbled as she took a bite, giving a moan of enjoyment that was a compliment to the staff toiling away in the kitchen.

"Everyone else might as well be standing still."

It made him sound like a braggart, but it was the honest truth and for once a sense of keen interest had been piqued instead of the usual rolled eyes. He'd be lying if he said he wasn't interested in what she could do, but they all had their stories to tell about the day they found out they were different. Her eyes were thoughtful, likely figuring out how he'd lifted her wallet earlier now that the last piece had fallen into place.

"What's it like? I mean really."

"Better than bullet time."

The world was different in the space between the second hand, living moments people had only ever see captured by a high speed camera. He didn't have words for some of the things he'd seen.

"Sounds crazy awesome."

He let his smile speak for him, his life hadn't been perfect, but the day he found out he was different had been the best of his life. Wanda had been a black cat to be around until she figured it out, until they figured it out. To their mother it was just another way for them to get in trouble, she couldn't care less until the phone ran or the cops came knocking at the door.

The dinner he owed his date came at last, a steak for him still sizzling on the cast iron while she had gone for cedar plank salmon with a salad on the side. The patio was filling in, but the distant rumble of thunder warned it'd be time to take the party inside. To see his date startle at the crackling crash surprised him.

"I hate it when the weatherman's right, prick." Jubilee cursed.

"It's just rain." Peter shrugged off, he liked the rain actually.

For as fast as he was he couldn't take back what he'd said, catching something in her eyes that hinted she had a reason for her hatred of a good thunderstorm. A cold wind told of the rain to come, scattering napkins not anchored down by silverware and throwing trash down the street. Already patrons were heading in, while some like themselves eating their meal in peace, every flickering flash of lightning casting the clouds in violet that told how long the coming rain was off.

Plates cleaned and glasses empty, he caught their waiter and paid in cash, the bar was too crowded now that the patrons enjoying the patio had retreated in. The first heavy drops fell, the pavement darkening until it shone in the headlights, the storm come in a torrent that had the gutters running heavy.

Huddled under the awning with a few more trying to decide if they were staying or going, Jubilee held him in her arms as an excuse to hide from the rain driven in by random gusts of wind. Goose bumps dotted her arms, warning her hands in his as he longed for a jacket to loan to her. The bar was standing room only now, a man in an off the rack jacket sending people away with a apology, telling them that they were at capacity.

"I still owe you dessert, how's coffee with something sweet on the side sound? My treat." Peter offered, a cup of coffee was everything he needed for the drive back to his new home.

"Nearest coffee shop's like a block away." Stealing a peek at the rain that hadn't let up, Jubilee glared up suspiciously.

"Race ya."

-=+=–=+=–=+=–=+=-


End file.
